


100 Miles & Running

by Brenda



Category: Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Fast and the Furious Series
Genre: And Brian Has No Subtlety, Brian pov, Dom Is Too Stubborn For His Own Good, Domestic Life Is Hard, Everything is Complicated, F/M, M/M, Mia Is Too Smart For The World, Not Furious 7 Compliant, Past Relationship(s), Post-Fast & Furious 6 (2013), at all, but it all works out in the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-04-30
Packaged: 2018-03-26 13:06:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3852028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brenda/pseuds/Brenda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"You don't need to explain, alright.  I've seen the way you look at her.  There's no doubt you think she hung the friggin' moon.  But I've also seen the way you look at </i>him<i>.  And it's the same damn look."</i></p><p>Or: Post-Fast 6, Brian copes with fatherhood, his feelings for Dom and Mia, his guilt over Letty, and becoming a (mostly) respectable, law-abiding citizen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Settling In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nestra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nestra/gifts).



> This may well be the hardest fic I've ever finished. I started writing it for Nestra for Yuletide for 2013 and had about 5000 words written and was literally in the middle of writing a scene for it when I heard the news about Paul. So I set aside everything I'd done and wrote [Common Ground](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1092966) instead, because an AU was all I could handle writing in this fandom at that point.
> 
> But I promised myself that I would come back to this one when I was ready, so here we are. :)

_"You're stronger together. You always were."_ – Mia Toretto

 

Nothing glittered quite like the asphalt in Los Angeles on a late summer afternoon. Brian O'Conner shifted the RX35 into fourth and drifted nice and easy around the corner at Alvarado and Cerro Gordo before gunning it in the straightaway. Downtown L.A. beckoned below, the basin stretching out before him in an infinite expanse of crammed-together houses and buildings all crowded together, intersected by a crisscross of black-topped roads, everything hazy-bright in the smog that settled over everything like a dusty blanket. 

Brian had been all over the world, had lived in more places than he could even remember, but no other place tugged at him quite like this city. His heart was here, in every definition of the word. And after everything he and Dom and Mia had been through to reclaim their home, he appreciated every day he woke up in a house that was every bit as much his these days, appreciated the mundane banality that was now his life. 

He pulled into the parking lot of the Toretto-O'Conner Performance Shop and killed the engine of the GT, blue eyes squinting as he took in the construction crew putting up drywall between the work bays and the showroom floor. He didn't see Dom anywhere, but the Charger was parked in its usual spot, so chances were he was somewhere nearby. Brian climbed out of the seat, a tall, lanky man with short-cropped dark-blond hair and a movie-star handsome face he was constantly trying to live down. He snagged his work shirt on the way, and raised a hand in greeting to Salazar, the construction crew's foreman. Salazar was one of Dom and Mia's never-ending parade of cousins, just like everyone else who worked for them. 

Brian followed the high-pitched whining of air tools around the back, and found Dom under the body of a custom fire-engine red '71 Hemi 'Cuda. The engine block was sitting on a rack nearby, with the exhaust lying on a blanket beside it. Brian peered into the hood, met Dom's wide, welcoming grin with his own. "Reinforcing the housing?"

"Yeah, the silly bastard wants to take it out on the rally circuit," Dom replied, and rolled out, coming to his feet in one smooth motion. Bald and hulking and built like a tank, but with the prettiest brown eyes and longest eyelashes Brian had ever seen on a dude, and a smile that could rival all the bright lights of Hollywood, that was Dominic Toretto. He was wearing his usual cargo pants and a clingy black tank top and he smelled faintly of gasoline and oil when he gave Brian a one-armed hug like they hadn't just seen each other that morning at breakfast. Brian allowed himself one quick, dangerous moment to savor Dom's closeness, then stepped back. It was getting harder to do each time.

Dom gestured at the car. "So, what's your verdict, Bri?"

Brian shrugged as walked around the engine – the original V8, all raw power and pure torque. American muscle at its absolute finest – muscle that was wasted on the dumb fuck who owned it. "I think it doesn't matter what we do to it. We both know the owner's got a heavy foot and no skill behind the wheel. But it's his money, and if he wants to waste it on tricking out his car to race it, it's not my call to tell him no."

"Yeah," Dom agreed, and wiped his hands clean with one of the shop rags. "Feels like stealing, though, and not in a good way. Seems a shame for a beauty like this."

"Hey, I agree, man, but if we tell him to get lost, someone else'll be only too happy to take his money. At least with us, he's getting quality work," Brian replied, then jerked a thumb to the building. "How's the refurb going? I saw the drywall going up when I pulled in."

"Few more days, then we can start loading in equipment and furniture. How's Letty and Leon's place coming along?"

"Good from what I saw. Letty was on a parts run when I dropped by, but Leon was there, showed me around. The place is looking real nice." Brian had timed his visit to coincide with Letty's parts run on purpose, but Dom didn't need to know that. Although, given what Brian knew about Dom, he probably already suspected that Brian had been doing his level best to keep a wide berth around Letty the last few months, and was just biding his time before he said anything. 

Brian didn't know what to tell him. Shit, he wasn't even sure what to say to himself about it. He'd been a fucking mess since London, and it wasn't getting any better. And, so far, nothing he'd tried so far seemed to help.

"Good," Dom said, and gave Brian a quick smile. "You wanna help me put in the NOS tanks?"

NOS tanks. The stupid bastard really did have a death wish. Brian met Dom's wry, sympathetic grin, and shook his head. One day, he thought, he would be able to resist a Toretto smiling at him like that, but that day was probably a long ways off. "Yeah, sure. Why not."

***

Part of the pardon agreement the crew had all worked out with Hobbs in return for their assistance in bringing down Shaw had been that everyone on the crew had been able to keep all of the money they'd taken – _liberated_ , Rome had called it – from Reyes back in Rio. But for Brian, it had never been about the money. He wasn't Rome or Tej – material shit didn't really do anything for him. Sure, he liked knowing that Jack's future was secure, but he'd seen money tear more people apart than keep them together. Money didn't mean much of anything except a means to an end.

The true victory as far as Brian was concerned was Jack getting a chance to grow up in a stable and loving environment, with parents and an uncle who weren't constantly looking over their shoulders for either police sirens or a bullet to the head. And that victory had come with a terrible cost, so Brian was going to make damn sure it counted. Gisele's sacrifice to keep the rest of the team safe had to mean something, or none of it would have been for anything.

So he'd gratefully settled into the Toretto house in Echo Park and, after making sure Jack's trust fund was locked in tight, tried to figure out what he wanted to do with his life now that he was a free man with no obligations and nothing to prove. It wasn't like he was gonna go back on the force or work for the FBI again. He'd had enough of the law – on both sides of it.

Opening another garage had been a no-brainer, something he and Dom hadn't even needed to discuss beyond where they were going to put it. It also hadn't surprised him when Mia had opted to go back to school to finish her nursing degree. She'd always been the smartest out of the entire lot of them, with the possible exception of Gisele. But, what _had_ surprised Brian was Letty staying put. And, along with Leon (who'd returned to L.A. when he'd heard Dom and Brian were back), taking over Harry's old parts shop. She'd even kept the damn name of the place - The Racer's Edge. But maybe it made as much sense as anything else. They were all adrenaline junkies, all of them used to living life like there was no tomorrow, to not only going to the edge, but jumping right the fuck over at a hundred miles an hour. Which was cool and all, but all of that running, it just got old after awhile.

Maybe Letty felt the same way, too. Shit, maybe she just wanted to plant her feet somewhere solid and stay put for more than a month. Maybe she just wanted to establish a home base with people surrounding her who would stand by her, no matter what. She'd never get her past back, would never remember who she used to be, but the past wasn't all it was cracked up to be. For Brian, the past was a mostly shitty childhood in Barstow, was joining the Police Academy out of sheer desperation, was (even though he never regretted it) letting Bilkins down in his first big undercover assignment. 

The past was letting Dom and Mia both drive out of his life, was living like a ghost for five long years with only the memories of those days in the Toretto garage as comfort and companionship. The past was being by himself, no ties, no family, nothing and no one worth fighting for or living for or dying for, and what kind of life was that? He liked the here and now just fine.

Now, he had a home, a family, a code. There wasn't even a comparison.

Brian owed Letty so much, and the bitch of it was, she didn't even remember any of it. But if it hadn't been for her – if she hadn't shown up on his doorstep, determined to do whatever it took to get Dom back, to make their family whole again, if she hadn't agreed to work with him when he'd been with the FBI... Shit, man, he knew he wouldn't be where he was today without her. He wouldn't have Dom and Mia back, he wouldn't have Jack, he wouldn't have Tej and Rome and Han and Leon and Hobbs and Elena and Leo and Santos and wouldn't have had Gisele for the far too-brief time they'd all called her their own. 

Letty had been the one who'd given Brian a chance to reclaim his _life_. She'd given him back his family when he couldn't even admit he'd missed them with every breath in his body. There weren't words enough in the universe to thank her, and the Letty he knew (and the one he was getting to know all over again) wouldn't have wanted to hear them anyway. So, he did the best he could in other ways – he gave her space, gave her time, and gave her Dom. 

It might not be much, but it was all he knew how to do.

***

The Toretto (Toretto-O'Conner now, thank you very much) house didn't look like much from the street. A simple two story wood-frame, painted a cheery yellow, with a small porch in the front, an old garage-slash-barn in the back, and a scraggly yard that still needed all kinds of work, it wasn't exactly a palace. Not like the place Brian and Mia had in the Canary Islands. But that house, as beautiful and picturesque as it had been, had never truly been home. Jack may have been born in Spain, but his _roots_ were here at 1327 East Kensington in Echo Park. 

Brian pulled up into the drive, felt the same visceral tug he'd felt every day they'd been back. Like a lock clicking into place, a lost puzzle piece fitting together with its mates. He was exactly where he belonged and with the people he'd always been meant to be with.

He shut off the engine and climbed out of the car just as the front door opened and Mia, carrying Jack on her hip, came out onto the front porch. Her long dark hair was in a messy ponytail, and deep brown eyes, the same shade as her brother's, crinkled when she smiled. She was wearing cut-offs that showed mile-long legs and an indigo-blue tank top that showed just a hint of cleavage, and another tug pulled at his heart, settled deep inside every dark crevasse and lit him up from within. 

He was so profoundly grateful every moment of every day that she and Dom had given him another shot.

He climbed the steps to the porch and smiled, wide and delighted, so happy his chest hurt with everything he was feeling. "Hey, babe, how was class?" He brushed a light, lingering kiss across soft lips, but kept his hands to himself, mindful of the oil stains on them and on his shirt. Not that he thought she'd personally mind getting a little grease under her nails, but there was Jack to think about.

"Long, boring, I'll be happy to be done with Chemistry and Epidemiology." She leaned in for another kiss, sweet and slow and just about perfect, and hefted Jack higher on her hip. "How's the shop coming along?"

"Drywall went up and the showroom's looking on track. You should come by sometime after class, see the progress." Then he bent, brushed a quick kiss to the fuzz of Jack's hair and grinned when he got a gurgle in reply. "How's my favorite little man doing?"

"Slobbering over everything in sight is what he's doing." Mia's smile was rueful. "I think another tooth is coming in."

"He'll be ready to gnaw on some steak in no time," Brian said, and smiled back at her. "Let me get cleaned up and I'll take him off your hands for a bit, let you get started with your homework or whatever."

"I have trained you well," she replied, with an amused smirk that he couldn't help but return. "Dom not with you?"

"Said he'd be home for dinner, but he wanted to stop by Racer's Edge to go over a few things with Letty and Leon. Financial paperwork or something, I think, I wasn't exactly paying attention." 

If Mia thought it odd that Brian hadn't also wanted to tag along with Dom to see how things were progressing, she didn't mention it. Brian was just grateful for small favors. They were a family again, finally reunited and finally home, and it still wasn't enough. He had to get his shit together where Letty was concerned, and soon, before it fucked with everything he was trying to build. He'd worked way too hard and for too long to sabotage it now.

***

"Alright, a little to the left...perfect," Dom declared, and gave Brian a thumbs up when he turned away from the display. They'd taken the morning off from working on tricking out a custom Lamborghini Veneno Roadster to finally put the furniture and shelves up in the showroom. Which, in reality, meant Dom was standing around directing Brian on where to put everything. Brian didn't care, though. His name may be on the sign out front, but this was still and always would be Dom's show. 

Every man might be the hero of his own story, but Brian had never minded playing Nightwing to Dom's Batman. As long as they were a team, it didn't matter who was alpha dog or who was calling the shots. He knew Dom valued his opinion, even when they disagreed, and that was all that mattered.

The bell above the front door jingled, and they both looked away from the shelves. Business was good so far, but they weren't so busy just yet they could turn down new customers. But polite curiosity turned into outright pleasure when they saw who it was stepping into the foyer. Dom was the first to break into a wide, welcoming grin.

"Well, I'll be damned if it's not Hector Alvarez," he drawled, stepping forward to slap Hector on the back.

Hector turned in a wide circle, gave a low, approving whistle. "I heard the rumor and couldn't believe it. Brian O'Conner and Dominic Toretto, back in L.A. as legal, upstanding citizens, opening a shop and everything. Had to see it with my own two eyes, homes."

"Back and here to stay, so get used to it," Brian said, and stepped into Hector's bro-hug. The years had treated Hector pretty well – maybe a little too well, in fact. "Think you gained a few pounds there, man."

Hector shrugged and spread out his hands. "What can I say, ese, my woman, she likes to cook, keep her man happy, you know."

Dom leaned against the counter and crossed his arms in front of his broad chest. "Oh, you got a woman now?"

"A woman, a kid, and another on the way," Hector replied, chest puffed with pride. "Guess we all gotta grow up sometime."

"Yeah, I guess so," Brian said. "Got a son myself with Mia."

"Ahhh, I see, I see," Hector said, and wagged his fingers between them. "Now you two really are a family."

Brian glanced at Dom, who returned the look. "We were always family," Dom said, with the soft sort of pride in his voice that revved Brian from first to sixth gear in no time flat. "Even when we were on different sides."

Hector nodded, even though it was clear he didn't get it. But that was alright – Brian got it just fine. "You two still race?"

Brian caught Dom's small smile, and answered for both of them. They may be mostly law-abiding citizens these days, but they would never be respectable. "When and where, dude."

"Well, you know we kept Race Wars going after you guys left?"

Dom shifted closer to Brian, a united front against all comers, everything as it should be, except for the fissure of heat running along Brian's spine. "Oh, _did_ you?" Dom drawled. 

"You should come by, check it out," Hector said, with a mildly deceptive shrug. "We'll give you and your pretty boy a place of honor and everything."

Brian inwardly shivered at the casual possessive and at the fact that Dom didn't bother to correct Hector on it. Then again, it wasn't like it was a secret that Brian pretty much had Property of Toretto stamped on him these days. 

But Dom just gave Brian a sidelong glance that said more than mere words ever could. "Me and the Buster wouldn't miss it for the world."

***

Most days, Dom and Brian wound up splitting the morning duties to give Mia extra time to study, with Brian in charge of Jack's bottle and Dom either frying up eggs or mixing up pancakes for the adults. It was a good system, a well-honed routine, so normal that Brian still couldn't believe it sometimes. That this was his life now. Sometimes, he just wanted to pinch himself, make sure it was all real.

Brian filled Mia's coffee thermos, set it beside her laptop bag, and went back to the cozy kitchen table. Dom had Jack cradled against his chest, patting him on the back with a burp rag thrown over his shoulder. Mia had her textbook open, and was busy scribbling notes in the margins. Brian loved that she was old-school enough to buy physical books instead of downloading everything to her tablet. 

He held up the coffee pot. "Hey, Dom, you need a refill?"

Dom gave him a soft smile, and Brian's gut clenched in response. "Nah, I'm good."

"Mia?"

She gave him an identical smile and he felt the same kick in his gut in response. That smile – by either of them – was going to be the death of him one day. "I shouldn't," Mia said, with a rueful look. "I've gotta get to class." She stood, gave Brian a pat on the hip and a quick kiss, and gathered the dishes. "You boys enjoy your day, alright."

"You too, babe."

She gave Jack a kiss on the forehead, gave Dom the same, and left the room, leaving the lingering faint hint of her perfume behind. Brian looked at Dom. "So, what's the plan?" On days when they had Jack, they tried to stay out of the shop, choosing instead to get out, explore L.A. and the changes the years away had wrought.

"Beautiful day out," Dom observed, studiously not looking Brian's way.

Brian frowned, but played along. "Yeah, it's L.A. Pretty days are kind of the norm. It's why everyone moves here."

"Exactly. So it might be nice to take a drive..."

Brian's lips twitched. He knew Dom far too well not to know exactly where this was headed. "And if said drive happened to end somewhere on Rosecrans near Highland..."

"Yeah, you're right," Dom said, and how he kept a straight face was a mystery for the ages. "We should take the surfboards just in case."

"Just in case," Brian repeated, and flicked at Jack's nose. His babbling laugh was the only answer Brian needed. If Dom wanted to spend the morning surfing, Brian wasn't about to argue.

***

The Strand at North Manhattan Beach was a well-known local surfing spot, just far enough away from the more touristy areas to the east, but close enough to the shops that it wasn't completely deserted. Other than Huntington, it was Brian's favorite place to catch a few waves and relax. He and Dom and Mia had even been toying with the idea of buying one of the houses or condos out this way, partially as an investment, but also so they'd have a place at the beach whenever they wanted to escape the heat and smog of Echo Park. And it really was one of the prettiest areas in the greater Southland area, with crystal blue water and white sand and palm trees dotting The Strand as it curved around the shore.

But it wasn't nearly as pretty as the sight that greeted Brian when he paddled to shore and headed towards the beach. Dom was still sitting on his towel, Jack was sitting on his lap, mouthing happily on his fist, and it still hit Brian like a ton of bricks sometimes – he was a father. This perfect small being was the best of him, the best of Mia...the best of Dom, really, when it came down to it. Jack had changed all of their lives, strengthened them in an entirely different way. A bond existed now that would _never_ be severed, no matter what.

Plus, it was far easier to focus on Jack than Dom right now. 

Brian wasn't looking, wasn't staring, wasn't taking in the way the sun glinted off the golden hue Dom's skin, the powerful build and easy, relaxed grace. He wouldn't do this to himself, no matter how much he might want to crawl onto Dom's lap and see if Dom's skin actually tasted like sea salt and suntan lotion or if it still tasted like he remembered, sharp and musky and as addictive as hitting a straightaway at a buck-forty. 

Just thinking about going down that road was madness. 

"You looked good out there," Dom called, when Brian set his board on the sand next to his own towel.

"Thanks." Brian dropped next to him, snagged Jack's free hand. "Hey, buddy. You and Uncle Dom having fun?"

"Jack says he's been flirting with all the pretty girls," Dom said, bouncing Jack in his lap. "Better watch out, Bri, I think he's out for your crown."

"He can have it. I think it's time to pass the throne to the next generation." He scrubbed his towel over his hair. "Besides, I'm a one woman man these days."

"You better be," Dom replied, all serious except for the way his eyes were dancing.

"Spoken like a true big brother," Brian grinned. "I can take him if you wanna go back out again...?"

"Nah, I think I've had enough for today," Dom said, returning the smile. "I had a lot more fun watching you."

Brian tried really hard not to read too much into that.

"At least you're admitting I'm better than you at something," he said.

The sly glance turned to pure delight as Dom's grin grew wider and brighter. "I wouldn't go _that_ far."

"It's alright, I'll do it for you."

"Keep on dreaming, Buster," Dom drawled. "You wanna head to Pancho's, grab some lunch?"

"Hell yeah." He pressed a kiss to Jack's chubby fingers. "What about you, little dude, you ready to munch down on a quesadilla?"

Jack cooed and started bouncing in Dom's lap. "I think that means yes," Dom observed.

"God help us when he starts actually talking," Brian said, and got to his feet. "You want me to take him?"

"Nah, I got it." Dom stood in one graceful movement, Jack anchored close to his chest. Brian gathered their things, and followed Dom up the path to the Charger, stowing everything before changing out of his wetsuit and into jeans and a t-shirt.

When he got to Pancho's, Dom already had a table on the downstairs patio. Jack was in a high chair, looking around at everything with wide eyes, Dom slouched in the chair beside him, looking every inch the proud uncle. Brian's entire heart constricted, then expanded, in his chest. 

It was getting harder and harder to keep ignoring his body's reaction to Dom. To pretend everything was copacetic when it really wasn't.

"I hope you ordered me a beer," he said, dropping into the chair next to Dom's.

Dom smirked and knocked their knees together when the waiter chose that moment to drop off two ice cold bottles of Corona. "You were saying?"

Brian clinked his bottle to Dom's. Fake it 'til you make it. It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter – and he'd fought far too hard to get this life to fuck it up now. "Thanks."

Dom's look was hot enough to melt steel, and so sincere Brian's breath caught in his throat. "I always got you, Bri, you know that."

"Yeah, I do." Which was the whole problem in a nutshell.

***

Brian could sense the baby monitor going off a split second before he heard the hitched, muted cry that meant Jack was either hungry or wet or both. He carefully untangled himself from Mia and scooted off the bed, careful not to wake her, and headed down the hall silent feet past Dom's closed door to Jack's room. "Hey, buddy," he softly crooned. "What's going on?"

Jack was sitting up in his crib, face scrunched and red, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that the next cry would be a helluva lot louder if Brian didn't do something quick. He scooped Jack up into his arms, felt the overall body shiver as Jack let out another hiccupped breath, and did a quick diaper check while Jack was still somewhat calm. Dry, so that was one potential problem solved.

"You hungry?" Brian asked, bouncing Jack a little as he looked down into wide, watery eyes. "Lonely? Have a bad dream?" He grabbed one of the soft throws Mia kept on the back of the rocking chair and made his careful way downstairs to the kitchen, smoothing his hand along Jack's tiny back the entire time.

"Daddy's here, okay, he's got this...hopefully he's got this, because Mommy's got a big test tomorrow and she needs her rest." He kept up the chatter, kept his voice light and easy and pitched at the low rumble Jack seemed to like best as he quickly heated a bottle, just in case Jack had woken up with the baby munchies.

It was a beautiful night, calm and clear, so Brian headed to the front porch and settled on the glider. He popped the bottle in Jack's mouth and wrapped the throw more securely around him. Jack made a grunting, happy noise, and grabbed at the bottle with chubby fingers. "Yeah, I hear ya," Brian remarked, amused. "I get cranky when I'm hungry, too."

He looked out over the quiet street at the other houses, this neighborhood that was now his own. He heard cicadas and barn owls over the hum of the A/C unit, lifted his face to catch the scent of hyacinths and honeysuckle drifting in the breeze from the front yard, and tried to slow his racing thoughts and the restless part of himself that could never fully relax. He wondered if the day would ever come when he'd be able to truly believe that all of this was real. That he and Mia and Dom were free, that it was okay to stop running, to put down roots, to settle into a life of semi-respectability and give Jack the future he deserved.

He tried, as he so often did, to imagine what this house must have looked like, felt like, when Dom and Mia had been kids. Tried to imagine Vince and Leon and Letty as children roughhousing in the back yard, everyone playing hoops together or helping Dom and Mia's dad in the barn with the Charger to keep her running steady between races. This house had seen a lot, had witnessed love and joy and family and heartbreak, had been the first place Brian had felt he'd truly belonged, where he and Dom had first bonded, where Jesse had drawn his last breath, where Jack had been conceived, where Brian and Letty had conspired to clear Dom's name and make the family whole again.

Letty... He really was going to have to deal with her at some point. He couldn't run forever – not from Letty, not from Dom, not from himself. Every day, the charade was getting a little harder to maintain, and he knew –

"I think he's done, Brian."

Brian _just_ managed not to jump at the soft voice and jostle Jack. "Dammit, Mia, you scared the hell out of me."

"You looked a million miles away." She nimbly plucked the bottle from Jack's lax fingers and set it on the ground before arranging the blanket a little more closely around Jack's neck. Brian hadn't even noticed that Jack had conked out.

"Sorry, yeah, I was...thinking."

"About what?" she asked, sitting gently on the seat next to him.

"You and Dom and everyone else as kids, actually." It was close enough to the truth. He would handle his shit. It wasn't like he had a choice. 

Mia let out a small laugh and swept her gaze over the porch and the yard. "It was noisy," she said. "There was always someone over or something going on, never a quiet moment. I remember there were some days when I longed for just five minutes of peace, y'know. When I wanted a space all of my own where no one could find me."

He carefully shifted Jack to his other arm, and pulled her in close, nuzzled the sleep-rumpled fall of her hair. "And now?"

"Now I'd give anything to have all of those crazy moments back. Just to see my folks again or Vince or Jesse or to have Letty _remember_ us..."

Her voice broke, and Brian was forcibly reminded that he wasn't the only one battling demons. He wasn't the only one who'd lost something precious and was struggling to pick up the pieces.

"I know, babe. I'm sorry." 

"Me too." She rested her hand over Brian's, and laid her head on his shoulder. "But we'll make new memories. As long as we have each other, that's all that matters."

"You're right," he told her, and looked back over the front lawn again. They were all still dealing with the past and the ghosts that haunted them. But they were _together_ and that was all that mattered.

***

Brian stood side by side with Dom as they watched the tow truck pull slowly into the lot. A baby blue '71 Challenger convertible was on the flat-bed, and if there was a hemi engine under the hood instead of the standard V8, Brian was pretty sure Dom would nut right on the spot. "I guess I'm not surprised you took the job," he remarked, crossing his arms as the driver lowered the ramp and loosened the chains holding the tires in place.

They had plenty of work these days to keep them busy for the foreseeable future, but there were some temptations too big to ignore. "What can I say, the owner caught me at a weak moment," Dom said, with a shrug that fooled absolutely no one, least of all Brian.

"You and your love for American muscle." Brian shook his head and chuckled. "Just admit you want to get your hands on her."

The corners of Dom's mouth lifted as his gaze slid over Brian, heated and smooth. "You might be into your imports, but admit it, Bri, American muscle turns you on just as much."

There was absolutely no way in hell he was going to respond to that. None. 

Thankfully, the shop phone chose that moment to ring. "I'll get it," he volunteered, after clearing a very dry throat. "You stay here, get the girl all settled into her new digs."

Dom nodded, not even looking his way, and Brian kept it together until he was through the doors and onto the showroom floor. He couldn't keep doing this to himself. Not that he really had a choice. 

After the call – a customer inquiring about a custom exhaust job for a Supra – Brian took another few minutes to breathe through the tension in his lungs. He couldn't afford to fuck things up, not when things were going so well. He and Mia were great, Jack was awesome, the shop was doing mad business, and he and Dom were the same great team they'd always been, as in sync as they'd always been, the perfect dynamic duo. Plenty of people had unresolved shit in their lives and they all managed to power through it. He and Dom had been living with what happened in Mexico for almost two years now with no real issue. There was no reason for Brian to be thinking about it so much lately.

But telling himself that and making himself believe it was a whole different ballgame. Especially with Dom bent over the engine of the Challenger, powerful body on full display in the ever-present cargo shorts and tank top, so at home and in his natural element that it was like Brian had stepped into another country entirely. One where all of Brian's carefully constructed defenses didn't count. Where it didn't matter how much he loved Mia, how much he wanted her, and didn't want to fuck things up, some part of him _wanted_ with a hunger he'd never be able to slake.

Dom glanced up and his perusal – just a glance, really, a short, sharp flicker that raked Brian from head to foot in less than two seconds – pinned Brian right where he stood. "You good?" he asked, with just a hint of a smirk in it, normal, typical Dom.

Brian was so far from good he wasn't sure there was a word for it. "I'm fine," he said, finally forcing his feet to move, to head towards the RX-7 on his lift and the brake job he still needed to finish.

"Wasn't what I asked."

Brian stopped. Turned. Dom was still watching him out of hooded eyes, arms crossed over that impressive chest, his look as patient and fathomless as the ocean. Brian wanted him so much it felt like a physical ache. "I don't –" he started.

Dom rolled his shoulders back. "I _know_ you're fine, Brian. Sometimes I think you were born fine. But that's not what I asked."

 _You good?_ The question loomed between them, an echo caroming through the too large space. Brian knew – because he knew Dom, knew Dom in his bones, knew Dom in every way that mattered – what Dom was really asking. What Dom really wanted to hear.

"No," he answered, as plainly and honestly as he could, and was across the room and crowding Dom's space before he even registered his feet were moving. "I'm about as far from fucking good as it gets."

Dom gave him a pointed look – _personal space much?_ – that Brian blatantly ignored. "You mind?"

Every one of Brian's senses were tingling, razor-sharp and in tune. He flexed his hands, fixed his gaze on the finish line, and could practically taste the NOS in the air when he inhaled. "Yeah, I kinda do."

Dom jerked up a hand to shove him back. Brian slapped it down. He wasn't fucking moving. "What the fuck, O'Conner?" Dom asked, an angry growl that did nothing to assuage the hunger clawing at Brian's insides.

In answer, Brian stepped even closer, so close there was barely a sliver of space between them. It felt like he was on a tightrope with no net and no end in sight. He swallowed, licked dry lips, and everything inside him clenched when Dom's eyes tracked the movement.

It would take barely a breath, the barest dip of his head, to brush his lips against Dom's. He could feel the power and tension radiating from Dom in waves, so palpable he could practically taste it. The air between them shimmered like an endless stretch of flat top on a summer's day, bright and glossy and way too tempting to ignore. Everything inside Brian seemed like it was poised right there on the starting line, just waiting for the flag to go down. Even the smallest movement could send him racing off into the sunset or careening off a cliff.

Dom's eyes, big and brown and absurdly lashed, darkened. His lips, full and chapped and, Brian could attest from personal experience, deceptively soft, beckoned. And, for a split second that lasted a goddamn lifetime, Dom looked like he might lean forward and close the minute distance between them. That he might finally _finally_ surrender to what Brian knew they both wanted.

But, no sooner than the thought drifted through Brian's head, Dom was shoving himself away, put the car between them as a barrier. 

"Sorry," he said, his voice low and barely audible. He didn't even give Brian the courtesy of looking actually looking at him.

"Sorry," Brian repeated, and closed his eyes. The urge to kick something, to punch something, was overwhelming. God _fucking_ dammit. 

He ached so much he was all but shaking and his hands were clenched so tight into fists that he was positive he was drawing blood. He was ready to push Dom against the wall and take the decision out of his hands, _take_ what he knew they both wanted, and only the belated thought of Mia – of losing her, what it would do to her if she ever found out about Mexico and the truth about Letty and what he tried to keep bottled inside every time he looked Dom's way – kept him rooted to his spot.

"We both know we can't just keep ignoring this," he finally said, when he opened his eyes again. "This isn't going away."

Dom didn't move, but Brian could see how stiff his spine was, strain bleeding over into his voice. "Watch me."

"This is fucking ridiculous, you know that." Brian grabbed a rag from the table and started cleaning his hands one angry swipe at a time, hissing when he was way too rough over the angry red crescent marks his nails had left behind. "Never thought I'd see the day when Dominic Toretto ran from anything like a coward."

Dom turned, slow and careful, like he was afraid of moving too fast. He looked coiled, tense, a panther ready to strike. "That's rich, coming from the man who's too afraid to be in the same damn room with Letty."

Brian choked in a shocked, painful breath. He felt like he'd been sucker punched. "This isn't about Letty –"

"Spare me the bullshit. We both know better," Dom said, jutting his chin out like he was daring Brian to take a swing. He was almost pissed enough to take Dom up on it.

"You don't get to use her as an excuse –"

"Way I understand it, _I'm_ not the one who used her."

"Fuck you." Brian all but spat the words out. "This isn't about her or what happened with her and you know it. Stop trying to change the goddamned subject. We both _know_ this is about Mexico, so spare me your –"

"Hey, is everything alright?"

They both turned as one to find Mia standing in the doorway, gaze flitting back and forth between them. "Hey, babe," Brian said, deliberately softening his voice as he stepped forward on leaden feet to brush a light kiss to her cheek. Her skin, as always, tasted faintly of peaches. "Didn't expect to see you here today."

"You told me to come by and see how the showroom was coming along," she replied, then looked back at Dom, then Brian again. "You two okay?"

"We're fine," Dom said, before Brian could. "C'mon, let me show you around. Bri's got a brake set to finish."

Mia didn't budge. The gold from her hoop earrings glinted in the light. She was so goddamn beautiful it hurt Brian's chest. "Brian?" she asked softly, the word wrapping them in their own tight cocoon, where nothing else mattered. "Is everything okay?"

He would tear this entire city apart with his bare hands to keep her safe, to keep her by his side. She was worth every lie, every burden, every black mark on his conscience. And she was damn well more than worth walking the hell away from the only other person in the world who could bring him to his knees with nothing more than a look. 

He'd made her a promise too many years ago to count. _You come first._ He needed to remember that.

"Yeah, we're alright," he finally told her, and summoned the smile for her that was hers alone. "You know how we get when we argue torque versus speed."

She knew they were bullshitting her – and they both knew she knew it – but she nodded like she couldn't see right through them. "Boys and their toys," she said, with a fond and very familiar exasperated look.

Dom shot Brian a pointed look. "One day, Buster'll figure out that I'm right and leave it alone." A warning shot fired right across the bow.

"Maybe." Brian shrugged, not willing to concede anything, and gave her another light kiss. "Go on, let Dom show you around. Like the man said, I got a brake job to finish."

"If you're sure..."

"Yeah. Totally sure."

"You're gonna love what we've done with the place, I promise," Dom told her, and held out his hand for her to take.

Brian could only watch, frustrated and aching for an entirely different reason, as Mia gave Brian a searching look before allowing Dom to lead her out of the shop area.

***


	2. Settling Down

"I hope y'all made extra of whatever it is you got grillin' because I am _hooongry_."

Brian laughed and stepped into Rome's hug and slap on the back with his own. "Man, you're always hungry."

"I keep telling him to enjoy the metabolism while he can because it won't last forever," Tej said, walking into the living room right behind Rome.

"Rome's never been too good at taking advice," Brian said, and transferred the hug to Tej. They both looked good. Flash and fashion, from their aviator sunglasses to their clothes to the bangin' kicks they were both sporting. "What brings you guys into L.A.?"

"Had a couple of meetings with some Hollywood types," Rome replied. "Thought we'd stick around for an extra day to come to Sunday dinner."

Brian shook his head sadly. "All your millions and you're still scamming for a free meal." 

"That's how you _keep_ the millions, Brian. Get everything for free you can."

"Don't let him fool you," Mia said, smiling as she came down the stairs. "He's missed the both of you."

"Oh, I _know_ he missed us," Rome declared, and swept Mia off her feet and into a hug. "You looking _good_ , Baby Mama. You sure you still wanna keep rolling with the pretty white boy, because I got a good thing going in Miami, you know that. I could set you up like a queen."

Mia's cheeks went delightfully pink. "And how many other queens are in this harem?"

"None as sweet as you, I swear."

"Enough flirting with my girl, Rome," Brian laughed, draping an arm around Mia's shoulders. "Go get your own."

"Now Brian, you know no one decent will have him," Tej said. "Although he does keep trying to snag Suki."

"Good luck with that," Brian replied. No way Rome even had a sliver of a chance.

"Anyway, what's this about the Hollywood meeting?" Mia asked.

"Rome here's got it in his head that what went down in Rio would make a good movie," Tej said, with an eye roll that was more fond than anything else.

"Damn right it would. A good heist movie like The Italian Job or Ocean's Eleven, y'feel me?"

"I get it." Brian nodded. "You want Don Cheadle to play you, too, I bet."

"If not him, then someone as handsome as smooth as him," Rome laughed. "Although we got some problems casting you or Dom. I mean, that's a lot of pretty and a whole lot of testosterone."

"Just make sure whatever pretty boy you cast can kick some ass or I'll kick yours again."

"Yeah, right, you and what army?"

Brian grinned. "Don't need one to take you down, and I never have."

"And make sure we get a cut of the profits," Mia added.

"Producer credits for the whole crew and a little sumthin' sumthin' on the back end," Tej promised. "Now, we grilling or what?"

***

Brian looked around the makeshift table – Dom at the head like the patriarch he was, Letty and Leon to his right, Rome and Tej sprawled in their chairs, Jack happily playing in his high chair, and Mia between Dom and Brian on Dom's left, the undisputed queen of the house and the family. With Rome and Tej there to fill the space and silences with anecdotes about Miami and the scene and their banter, it was easy to keep someone between himself and Letty, to keep a buffer between him and Dom.

Soon, he told himself. He'd deal with both of them soon. He and Dom hadn't had a single moment alone since that day at the garage and he wasn't in any hurry to fuck with the status quo.

"Alright, so what happened then?" he heard Letty ask, and finally started listening in to the conversation.

"...so after Brian over here fucked everything all to shit and Vince almost got his leg lopped off, Dom had me get you the hell out there," Leon said, with a challenging glance Brian's way. 

"Not the way I remember it," Brian replied, in his mildest voice. "Way I remember it, I saved Vince's life."

"Yeah, and got us all on a most wanted list –"

"Oh, fuck you, Leon, I'm tired of taking the blame for what happened that day." Brian jabbed at the table in emphasis. "I didn't tell you assholes to hold up a whole bunch of trucks or break the law and I sure as hell didn't tell that driver to point a shotgun at you and start trying to blow you all to hell."

"Is that what happened, Dom?" Letty asked, cocking her head as she waited for Dom's response.

Dom lifted his shoulders, and gave Brian a sidelong glance before replying. "Close enough."

"That's exactly what happened," Brian insisted. "I _saved_ your asses that day, all of you."

It seemed like the entire table held its breath before Leon finally gave an exaggerated shrug and grabbed his beer. "Whatever, dawg, it's all history."

"So stop bringing it up, because I'm sick of hearing it," Brian said, and pushed himself away from the table. 

"I'm the one that asked," Letty quietly said.

He still couldn't quite bring himself to look at her. "Yeah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone off like that."

"Bri –"

"I'm alright, Dom." Brian waved him off. "I just...need a minute." Needed to clear his head, work off the anger and adrenaline, the helpless, trapped feeling anchoring him into place.

"Uh, hey guys."

Brian froze as Dom stood, his chair scraping much too loud in the quiet hush that followed. Han was standing at the edge of the patio, hands shoved in his pockets, dark hair even longer than usual. He gave the table a blanket small smile, then refocused on Dom and Brian. "Sorry to disturb everyone, I just wanted to –"

"It's alright," Dom said, in that gentle voice he usually only reserved for soothing Jack when he was fussy or crying. "You know you're always welcome."

Han's adam's apple bobbled when he nodded. "Thanks. But I just dropped by to...um...say that...well, yeah." He hunched in on himself and turned to head back down the driveway.

Brian shook his head when Dom made a move to follow. "Let me handle it."

Dom nodded, no hesitation, and clapped him on the shoulder, the touch warm and a comfort. "Let him know we've got plenty of food."

"I will." He caught Mia's reassuring smile, and returned it, grateful as hell for the trust she and Dom were placing in him, and jogged down the driveway. Han had just opened the door to his car.

"Hey, Han, wait up." 

Han paused, but didn't turn. His grip was white-knuckled around the handle. "I just came by to say I'm headed out."

"Okay." He wanted to beg Han not to do it, not to go. But he didn't – he wouldn't. Han had to exorcise his demons and deal with his grief in his own way, and Brian had to respect it. "Tokyo still?"

Han shrugged, and pushed his hair out of his eyes with impatient, shaking fingers. "Yeah, maybe it'll help. It's not the ride off into the sunset I thought I'd have with –" He stopped, swallowed. "Anyway, it seems as good a place as any to clear my head." He held out his hand and waited for Brian to take it. "I'll be seeing you around, Brian."

"You do whatever you need to do, Han." He gripped Han's hand tight between his own. If he could warm the other man up by sheer force of will, he'd do it. "But you come back to us, alright. No matter how long it takes or what you have to do, you will always have a home here."

"I know." Han smiled, slight, but real. It was just an echo of his usual laconic grin, but Brian would take it. "You take care of Mia and Jack, alright. And Dom. He thinks he's bulletproof."

"Yeah, well, it's easier to let him think that than to try to argue." Brian grinned, only slightly strained. "But don't worry, I've got his back, like always. And if you need us, we've got yours too."

"I appreciate it."

The hug was heartfelt, brief, over far too soon. Brian forced himself to stand there and watch as Han climbed into his car and drove off, disappearing almost immediately down the hill, heading towards LAX and Tokyo and whatever penance he felt he needed to pay for the egregious sin of surviving. Brian just hoped he'd be able to finally get some peace. Gisele would have hated seeing him like this.

When he got back to the patio, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked his way. "How is he?" Dom quietly asked.

"Hurting," Brian replied, with a shrug. "He's on his way to the airport."

Rome picked up his bottle of water. "Finally doing it, I guess?"

"Looks like," Brian said. "I wanted to try to talk him out of it, but I'm not sure if would have done any good if I had, so..."

"This is his fight, Bri." Dom's voice held a wealth of empathy. "This isn’t a punch you can take for him."

"Yeah, I know." And he did. But he also knew he'd worry until Han made it back home.

"Anyway, while you were talking to Han, we got to talking ourselves," Tej said, with a look that meant he was changing the subject before things got too heavy, too dark. Brian was inclined to go along. The day was far too beautiful for regrets and what ifs and missed chances.

"I'm listening."

"I was telling them that you and I bought some land out in the desert," Dom said, and oh, yeah, Brian got where this was going in a hurry. This was _just_ what he needed.

"I'm in," he said, with a grin. "Provided Mia's alright with it."

"We can take turns watching Jack," she assured him.

"So, how's this gonna work, stakes-wise?" Rome asked, looking around the table.

"I dunno, I thought we'd just do it for bragging rights," Brian replied.

Dom gave Brian a quick wink, so reminiscent of how they used to be before the last few weeks, the rapport between them as easy and as natural as breathing. "Why, Rome, you need a reason to wanna go toe to toe with me?"

"Oh, that's how it is now, huh."

"Man, you need to just stop talking," Tej said.

"Besides, who's to say me or Mia won't wipe the floor with all of your asses?" Letty chimed in.

"I heard that," Mia said, giving Letty a high five.

"C'mon now, baby girl, I didn't mean it like that..."

Brian just leaned back in his chair and watched, amused as fuck, as Rome valiantly tried to shovel his way out of the hole his mouth had just dug him in.

***

"Remember, don't pop it into sixth until you hit 120 and lay off the NOS until –"

Mia pulled Brian down by the front of his shirt, cut off his instructions with a quick, biting kiss. "I've been racing since I could reach the pedals," she reminded him with a smile. "I've got this."

"Yeah, I know." He braced his hands on the doorframe, took in how beautiful, how natural, she looked behind the wheel. "But I've been going head to head against Rome a long time."

Twin dimples peeked out when she grinned up at him. "We both know I could beat him with my eyes closed. Save all your talk for Jack when he gets old enough to start racing, alright?"

Brian may not be the smartest man on the planet, but he was damn sure smart enough to know when to back off when it came to the women in his life. "Yeah, alright," he said, and stepped away from the car. "Wipe the desert with his ass."

"Yo, Brian, I _heard_ that, a'ight!" Rome called out from inside the other car.

Brian turned and gave Rom his best shit-eating grin. "Yeah, I know you did."

Rome frowned and shook his head. "Prick."

Brian turned back to Mia. "I'd tell you to go easy on him, but it's way more fun for me if you don't."

"You got it."

Brian headed towards the sideline to watch what he knew would be Rome's utter annihilation and wasn't remotely surprised when Dom walked up next to him just a few moments later. He held a full bottle of Corona loose between two fingers, and his tank top was stretched so tight across his chest it was a wonder the seams weren't bursting. The heat radiating from him burned hotter than the sun overhead.

Brian took a very deep breath and tried to let it all go. "You know once Mia's done kicking Rome's ass I want another shot at you."

"And why am I not surprised to hear that."

Brian glanced over to Dom, who just stared back at him like Brian was the only person in the world. "You really wanna do this to yourself again?" Dom asked, the words a challenge and a dare.

"Hey, if you're too scared for a rematch..." Brian countered, with a wide grin. "Because, the way I remember it, I beat you last time. I'm just giving you the opportunity to even the board."

Dom shook his head. "Way I remember it, I _let_ you win."

"Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that." Brian could practically feel the engine revving around him, could almost feel of the steering wheel under his hands and smell the burning rubber of the tires. "We racing or not?"

"Yeah," Dom replied, with another long look that reminded Brian so much of Mexico his entire body tensed. "We're racing."

***

Brian barely waited until Mia shut their bedroom door behind them before he was tugging at her shorts, eager to get his hands on her. He was so hard he was light-headed, both from the adrenaline rush of racing Dom (the race had ended, as it almost always ended these days, in a tie) and from watching Mia leave everyone in the dust (especially Rome) when she'd gone out for a few spins. 

"You were so hot out there today, babe," he murmured, sliding his hands up under her shirt to push it off, leaving her gorgeously naked in his arms. "You know I love watching you drive."

She looped her arms around his neck, her smile wide and open and almost unbearably dazzling. "I think you just have a thing for fast women."

"You might be right," he said and teased her lips open with his tongue as his hand drifted down, parted slick folds.

She sighed into the touch and the kiss, all but melted against him. "You and Dom seem to've made up," she sighed, between one kiss and the next.

"You _really_ want to talk about your brother right now?" Because he really, really didn't. There was no way he'd survive thinking about Dom – about all of his raw power and aggression and surprising gentleness when it was just the two of them – when he had Mia warm and willing in his arms, when all he wanted was to sink inside her and lose himself for the next hour or year or decade.

"Mmmm...just..." She shifted, bringing his fingers right where she wanted them, and let out a shallow breath. "It's nice. Seeing you two together like normal."

She didn't know the half of it. And she never would. "Right now, I'd much rather watch you," he said, and swallowed her next moan with another kiss.

He had everything he needed right here. Asking for anything more was just hubris.

***

Brian had never been one much for martial arts or yoga or any of that, but Elena had been teaching him tai chi when they'd all been living in the Canary Islands, and he'd kept up with it, even when he'd settled back in L.A. and Elena had gone to work for Hobbs. He used the time to decompress, to get his head straight. It still wasn't as cathartic as getting behind the wheel and going for a drive, but on days when Dom wasn't around for a race, it worked. And since they were all still trying to live a (mostly) legal life, it was good enough.

He was just getting into his second round of movements when his luck in avoiding being alone around Letty ran out. She rounded the corner of the driveway, and pulled up short when she saw him. He didn't need to look her way to know she was wearing her trademark smirk.

"Is this what you do for fun now? Karate and shit?"

Brian finished the next movement, then stopped, grabbing his bottle of water. "Tai chi," he corrected. "And I like it. It's relaxing."

"If you say so." She rocked back on her heels, and looked around the driveway. She'd always been a head-turner, with her dark hair and dark eyes and curves as sleek as the PCH, but these days, she seemed to have taken stunning to a whole new level. The mischief was back in her smile and she was filled with that barely leashed energy that made a man happy enough just to be along for the ride. "Dom here?"

"You know he's not." He had the house to himself, and he knew she knew it, knew that was why she was here. 

She didn't even look remotely guilty for getting caught out. But guilt was far more Brian's thing than hers. "Yeah, maybe I do."

"So why don't you tell me why you really dropped by."

"Alright, fine." She shoved her fists into the pockets of her jeans, stared at him out of coolly assessing eyes. "I've heard from Leon that you've been coming around the shop every day, but you're never there when I'm around. So I guess I'm asking if you and me've got a problem?"

Fuck. He rubbed a hand over his hair, careful not to look her in the eye. "No problem."

"Alright, now I _know_ you're lying to me, Brian. So what gives?"

He should have known she would have only let things slide for so long before taking matters into her own hands. "Nothing, alright, I just...I was giving you space."

"Giving me space?" The space between her brows bunched together. "Why would I need space from you?"

"Maybe you've forgotten what happened to you, Letty, but I haven't. I'm the one that put you in harm's way. I'm the one that almost got you killed. I'm the reason you don't remember Dom or Mia or Leon or L.A. or where you grew up or anything else."

"And I suppose you forced me to go work for Braga, forced me into going undercover?"

This wasn't going remotely like how he'd thought. But then, she'd always had a way of twisting him up without even trying. Her and Dom and Mia, man, it had to be a gift. Something in the water of East L.A. "You know that's not true." 

"Here's what I do know." She folded her arms over her chest, stared up at him. "The way everyone tells it, the way it makes sense for who _I_ am, I came to _you_ , not the other way around. I wanted in on Braga, and told you to make it happen. So whatever happened to me is on me, not you."

She had no idea, and that was the entire problem in a fucking nutshell. She would _never_ have any idea what happened, no matter how many reports she read or what Brian or anyone else told her. He was the sole keeper now of that bit of history, and the burden and guilt of what he'd done were his alone to bear. "I should have never put you in there alone. I should have been there with you, backing your play."

"Yeah, maybe, but then, maybe if you'd been there, we'd both be dead for real," she said, and stepped closer. "You gotta find a way to forgive yourself, Brian, before it eats you up inside and spits you out."

"It's not that simple."

"Sure it is," she argued. "If you want it to be."

"Maybe I don't," he answered, honest and raw. "Maybe I don't deserve simple."

She looked like she wanted to press the matter further, but didn't. "Alright, then, answer me this." She pointed between the two of them. "What happened between me and you?"

It took everything in him not to freeze. "You know what happened. I gave you the FBI report."

"Yeah, I know what you _gave_ me," she said, and pushed a loose curl behind her ear. "And now I'm asking you to _tell_ me. Were we sleeping together? Is that what you don't want me to find out?"

She might not remember her past, but the woman standing before him was Leticia Ortiz through and through. He'd missed her, more than he ever thought possible. "Let's just say it was complicated, alright."

"No, it's _not_ alright." She formed a fist, punched his arm. "I deserve to know."

He tried not to wince as he scrubbed a hand over his face. He was going to have a major bruise come tomorrow. She still knew how to pack a punch. "Alright fine, yeah," he admitted, because he may as well get this over with as quickly as possible. "It happened."

"Like...a drunken one night stand or were we a thing or what? Was I cheating on Dom with you, because I gotta say, I mean, you're cute and all, but that doesn't make any sense."

"Nah, it wasn't like that." He dropped to one of the patio chairs, kicked one out for her to take. "I mean, it was kind of a regular thing, yeah, but it started while we were working together to take down Braga and clear Dom's name. After you came back to L.A."

"After Dom left me in the Dominican, you mean," she finished, quietly. "He's been filling in some blanks for me."

"I, uh, yeah." He drummed his fingers on his knee. He'd faced more danger and fucked up situations than he could count, and hadn't flinched, but this? He'd almost prefer it if she was pointing a gun at his head. "Anyway, you came back to L.A. and you found me. Said you were tired of running and you wanted Dom to stop running and I owed you one."

"And did you?" she asked, studying him. "Owe me one?"

"It doesn’t matter." No way he was even remotely up for bringing up that bit of history again. "I've made a lot of mistakes, and God knows I've paid for them, but I wanted Dom clear as much as you did."

"For Mia?"

"For everyone," he corrected. "For me, for Mia, for Dom, for you...I just wanted him home. I wanted all of us home." 

"Alright, so how did we end up knocking boots?"

Yeah, time hadn't smoothed her edges out at all, either. Not that he'd expected anything different. "Uh...well, I guess you could say it started with the Charger."

"Dom's dad's Charger?" Letty guessed, and Brian nodded. "What about it?"

"Well, you were restoring it. Here at the house, in the garage. It, uh, I used to come by to help you. When Mia was out at work or with friends." He forced himself to press on. He owed her the truth. "We didn't talk much or anything, but I think it helped both of us. I know it helped me. I think, in a way, it helped us both feel closer to Dom."

She propped her chin on her palm. Her knee bumped against his. "So...let me get this right. You're trying to tell me that this was all about Dom? Like, you and me, we were fucking him through each other?"

"Uh? No? It wasn't...it wasn't really like that, but kinda, I dunno, maybe a little bit?" Shit, why did she have to ask all of the hard questions?

Her stare could have pierced through buildings. "Did you and him ever...?"

"No." Then he sighed again. Maybe Dom had already told her and she was just testing him. "And yes. It's..."

"Yeah, complicated, I get it." She sounded amused rather than annoyed, so it took that as a win. "So why don't you _un_ complicate it for me."

She had no idea what she was asking. But he owed her. No matter what, he owed her so much, and if this was his price, he'd pay it. "Yes, we were using each other because of our connection to Dom," he finally said. "No, that wasn't the entire reason why we were together. And no, at the time, nothing was going on with me and Dom."

"But something _did_ happen with you two."

"Yes." He didn't elaborate, and he hoped like hell she'd leave it at that.

"Does Mia know?"

"Maybe. Probably. It's not something we've ever talked about. I love her. I love her so much, Letty, you have no idea. This isn't about..."

"Hey." She covered his hand with hers, the touch warm, a comfort freely given. "You don't need to explain, alright. I've seen the way you look at her. There's no doubt you think she hung the friggin' moon. But I've also seen the way you look at _him_. And it's the same damn look."

For just a moment, Brian allowed himself to remember the feel of Letty in his arms, the way she'd growled his name during sex, like a dare or a taunt, the way she'd wrap her legs around him to hold him close, keep him inside her. He remembered the way she'd tasted, the scent of her, her ferocious appetite, her equally ferocious spirit. They hadn't been good for each other, not really. But he knew, even if she'd forgotten, that under everything else they were to each other, they'd had genuine affection between them. He would always love her, in his own way. And not just for her connection to Dom and Mia. 

They were connected. They were family. And you never turned your back on family, even when there was a far easier road to take. 

"You used to look at him the same way, you know."

"Maybe it's better now for all of us that I don't." She smiled, soft and easy. That smile erased the years and the miles, from her, and in it, he could see the brash, cocksure girl she was when they'd first met. "I'm not too sure the old me would have been cool with sharing him like that."

Sharing him? Oh no, there was no way he was going down that path again. The last time had nearly ended him, in more ways than one. "I...we haven't. I mean, not since –"

" _Relax_ , alright, I get it. I know." She patted his hand. "But if you did want a repeat of whatever it was, I wouldn't try to cut your balls off, okay?"

He let out a tired laugh. That would be the least of his worries if he ever wanted to travel that road again. But he appreciated what he thought she was trying to do. "Yeah, okay."

"Good." She stood, stretched and loosened her neck, and offered a hand. "You wanna go grab a beer or something?"

He looked at her hand, then her, and wanted to ask if she was sure she knew what she was doing. But he knew she'd drop-kick him into next week if he even hinted at it, so he let her pull him to his feet. And vowed to do his best to earn this second chance she was giving him. Maybe he'd never be able to make it up to her and maybe he'd always owe her way more than he could ever repay, but if she was willing to overlook all of that to start again, he wouldn't insult her decision by wallowing in the past himself.

"Yeah, sure," he said. "A beer sounds great."

***

It was the unspoken rule of the house that whoever woke up first was the one in charge of making sure Jack's diaper was changed, in addition to putting on the first pot of coffee. Most mornings by default, it was Dom (Brian swore the dude needed way less sleep than normal humans – not that there was anything normal about Dominic Toretto), but sometimes Brian's insomnia crept to the early morning hours and he was the one heading down to the kitchen with Jack cradled close and doing his best to work the coffee pot one-handed.

As much as he loved the hustle and bustle of the shop and living in a house that always seemed to be filled with people, he still loved the quiet mornings the best. When it was just him and the three most important people in his life under one roof, safe and sound and _together_.

He was just putting Jack in his high chair so he could get started on the bacon when Dom wandered in and made a bee line towards the coffee. "Mornin'," he mumbled, caressing the top of Jack's head as he passed.

"Mornin'," Brian replied, when he found his voice. He blamed it on the early hour, and not on the fact that Dom was shirtless and his jogging pants were riding so low around his hips that he was in danger of indecent exposure. 

Dom turned to face him after he'd filled his mug, and leaned against the counter, idly scratching at his chest. Brian emphatically did _not_ glance down to track the movement. "You okay?"

"Huh?" Brian jerked his wandering gaze back up to safer waters. "Yeah, I'm, uh, I'm fine."

"You look a little flushed."

"Can we not?" No way Dom was that obtuse. Brian raised an eyebrow in a silent dare, and waited. If Dom wanted to do this here and now in front of his kid and with Mia upstairs, fine by him.

Finally, Dom made an indistinct noise. "Yeah, alright," he said, and took another sip of his coffee. "I'm headed to El Viz later today – one of Hector's cousins has a '69 Chevelle he thinks I might be interested in restoring."

"Okay," Brian said, and turned to the stove. "Any idea how long you'll be gone?"

"A few days. I think you can handle it."

Brian knew Dom was talking about handling things at the shop, but it didn't stop his thoughts from going down a different path. "I survived the first twenty-five years of my life without you, Dom, I think I'll be alright."

Dom let out a low chuckle. "Now you sound like you," he remarked.

"Happy to oblige," he replied, and they both turned as Mia walked into the room. Unlike her exhibitionist brother, she was in a t-shirt and yoga pants and her hair was in a braid and her face was scrubbed clean. Somehow, despite the fact that he knew she'd just rolled out of bed, she still managed to look like a runway model. Jesus, she was gorgeous.

"Morning, babe," he said.

"Morning," she said, and gave Brian a quick kiss before accepting the full mug of coffee Dom handed her. "Thanks. So, what are the plans for today?"

"Well, I was just telling Brian that I was heading down to El Viz later today to look at a car. Should only be gone a few days."

Mia gave Dom a speculative look under her lashes as she sipped on her coffee. "You should take Brian with you, make a boy's trip out of it."

"Wait, what –" Brian started.

"Mia, I don't think –" Dom said at the same time.

Mia waved them both off. "I think Jack and I will be fine. And you've got Salazar and Manny helping to run the shop, so no reason not to do it. When's the last time the two of you did anything fun together that didn't involve trying to get yourselves killed or a street race?"

Brian could only exchange a helpless glance with Dom. Dom, who was still shirtless and muscled and far too tempting and if they were alone together for any length of time, something _was_ going to happen, and then he'd lose Mia and Dom both. He couldn't...he'd never survive it if he had to give them up now. "Mia..."

She turned, set down the cup, and grabbed his hand. "Dom, could you watch Jack for a second while I talk to Brian?"

"Yeah, of course," he said, and Mia didn't say another word, just dragged Brian out the back steps and into the barn. The Charger – and all it represented – loomed behind them, a silent witness.

As soon as Brian shut the door behind them, Mia whirled around. "You want to tell me what's been going on?"

"Nothing," he lied, because telling the truth wasn't exactly an option.

"I'm not blind, Brian, I can see that you two've been avoiding each other."

"Babe, c'mon, it's not like –"

"Do _not_ babe me. I know what I know."

"You're right," he said, and sighed. "But it's nothing serious, okay, nothing for you to worry about."

"You two need to figure this out," Mia said, and poked his chest. "I don't mind sharing you, but I'm not going to lose you. Either of you. Not again."

 _Don't mind sharing you_... He couldn't even say he was surprised that she knew or had managed to guess. She really was the smartest of the lot of them, by far, and had always had a knack for reading people. And Brian, well, he knew he wasn't exactly subtle, not when it came to his emotions.

He cupped her face, tilted it up towards his, and brushed at her cheeks with his thumbs. He didn't deserve her, and she could do so much better than him, but he knew no one on the planet would love her better than he did. "Hey, you're not, alright. I promise. You're never gonna lose me, Mia. Or Dom."

"Good." She nodded and grabbed onto his wrists. "Then do this for me and for you and for him."

"You really don't know what you're asking." It was one thing for her to have figured out that something had happened between him and Dom. That was the past, and it wasn't like Brian hadn't spent every day of the last two years making sure it wouldn't happen again. But this? Was another thing entirely.

"Yeah, I do." Her voice didn't waver and her gaze didn't move. "I know _exactly_ what I'm asking."

"Mia..." His voice broke as he stared as her, helpless and aching. Her touch was light, but it seared through him like a brand, marking him. Toretto property, now and always. "I'll talk to him."

"Do _better_ than talk to him," she said, and leaned in to give him a soft kiss. "Go with him, take a few days, get away. Just the two of you, no shop, no family, no distractions."

"You really want me to be alone with Dom right now?" he asked, incredulous.

"I thought I'd made that clear." Her laugh was lilting and welcome, a balm to sensitized nerves. "And I don't want either of you to come back until you're squared away, alright?"

He licked parched lips, and tried, one more time, to get her to see reason. "And what if...what if that means that he and I...that we..." He couldn’t even finish the thought.

"Can you really stand there and tell me that nothing's already happened between you already?"

He shook his head, mute. 

"So, if something happens, it happens," she said, and tightened her grip. "I already told you, Brian, I don't mind sharing you. I've been sharing you from the moment we met."

He wanted so badly to tell her she was wrong, that he'd made her that long ago promise to put her first and had stuck to it, but they both knew the truth. His heart and soul had always belonged to both of them equally and always would. She deserved better, she really did, but for some reason, by some fucking miracle he would never understand, she wanted _him_. She'd chosen him and this life and he would never be strong enough to push her away.

"I'll go with him," he promised, and pulled her in his arms. He was never letting go. Not of Mia, not of Dom. No matter what it took. 

"That's all I ask," she whispered, and clung back, just as tight.

***

"You know you don't need to come," Dom said, an hour later, as they walked out of the house and towards the barn and the Charger.

"Sure I do," Brian replied, tossing his overnight bag into the trunk alongside Dom's and shutting it. "Someone's gotta drive the Chevelle back after you buy it."

Dom made a small hmph noise. "And you're so sure I'm buying it?"

"Hell yeah, I am. I _know_ you, Toretto."

"Yeah, I guess you do." Dom squinted as the sun started its ascent from the edge of the basin below and the first bright rays hit his eyes. "But I'm driving us down there."

"Fine by me." He didn't mind playing passenger every once in awhile, especially not if it would put Dom in a better frame of mind. "Besides, the less I have to deal with the traffic out of L.A. and at the border, the happier I am."

Dom gave him a thoughtful look. The air between them crackled with a nameless energy. "Never thought I'd see the day when Brian O'Conner was content to let someone else take the wheel."

He knew Dom was trying to get a rise out of him, trying to start a fight. Knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt and he _still_ almost jumped at the obvious bait, because if there was one thing on this earth he couldn't resist (beyond a turbo-charged engine), it was a Toretto daring him to do something stupid. 

"You know better," Brian replied after a minute, because he was done playing. It was just him and Dom now and nothing but the open road ahead of them and nothing but time. They were going to get their shit settled for once and for all if he had to tie Dom down to do it.

Dom said nothing in reply. Just shrugged what passed for an apology and moved towards the driver's side of the Charger. They climbed into the car in silence and that same silence lasted – not quite easy, but not quite strained – as they hit the 101 South to the 5 and all the way out of the snarling south L.A. traffic. Brian amused himself by staring out at the gleaming high rises that crowded the downtown skyline – he wasn't in any hurry to push Dom or start the conversation. He knew Dom well enough to know that Dom would talk when he was ready and not a moment before.

When he finally did speak, it was mostly small talk about the shop and whether they could get any surfing in when they were in Baja and how they were going to childproof the house now that Jack was beginning to toddle around on very unsteady feet. It was mostly easy, loose, a conversation they could have had in their sleep, and was exactly what Brian wanted. They'd spent way too much time lately tiptoeing around each other. No matter what else happened, he wanted to fix the strain on their friendship, get them back in tune with each other where it really mattered.

By mutual agreement, they agreed to stop for the night outside Ensenada and drive the rest of the way to El Viz tomorrow. Dom pointed at a little motel-slash-inn just off the 1, and Brian nodded. Seemed nice enough, and it was close enough to the beach. They could walk right down to the ocean come morning, try to catch a few waves. If memory served, the swell here was pretty good right after dawn.

Brian checked them into a room and Dom grabbed their bags from the car, followed on Brian's heels. Brian gave Dom mad props for lasting as long as he did, but absolutely no one beat a Toretto for sheer stubbornness. A trait Brian hoped Jack wouldn't inherit, although he wasn't holding out too much hope. His kid may have the O'Conner last name and his baby blue eyes, but he was every inch Mia's kid and Dom's nephew where it counted.

Behind him, Dom let out a low sigh. "So, you mind telling me why we're here, O'Conner?"

"Because you've got a thing for muscle cars and we're both really bad at saying no to Mia?" Brian said, unlocking the door to the room and walking inside. It wasn't much to write home about, just two twin beds and a dresser between them and a small bathroom at the other end, but Brian had stayed in far worse places. At least it was clean.

"Very funny," Dom said, stepping in behind him and shutting the door.

"Screw you, man, I was being serious," Brian said as Dom tossed their bags on one of the beds. "I figure we lay low for a few days, get some surfing in maybe, and go back, tell her we're square."

Dom tilted his head and, even though they were on opposite sides of the room, the space between them seemed to disappear. "Are we?"

Were they? That was the money question, wasn't it. Brian cleared a suddenly dry throat. "I guess that's up to you, bro."

"You don't got an opinion?" Dom drawled, with a small smirk. It was that look right there that had drawn Brian in from the very start, and his reaction to seeing it hadn't changed one bit over the years. 

"Oh, I got plenty of opinions," he said, returning the look with his own, because two could play this game, "but none you wanna hear."

Dom spread his arms out in challenge. "Try me."

Fuck it, if they were gonna do this, they may as well do it right. It was, after all, why Mia had insisted they take this trip together. "Alright, fine. I think we've been avoiding what happened in Mexico for almost two years now, and that's fine, man, we don't ever have to bring it up again if you don't want. But it happened. And pretending it didn't is fucking stupid." 

Maybe Letty had been right all those weeks ago – it was better to face your shit head on than avoid it in the name of protection.

Dom went very still. "Is that what you think I've been doing? Pretending?"

Brian nodded. "Yeah, I do. I think we both have. And, look, all I'm saying is, it's not working. Mia knows, Dom. And Letty told me point blank that she figured it out awhile back. And they don't care."

Dom could have been carved out of granite for all the emotion he showed. "So what are you saying?" His voice was a low, soft rumble that might have sounded threatening to anyone else. But Brian knew better, because he knew Dom better than just about anyone.

"What I'm saying is, nothing needs to happen you don't want, alright. But we can't keep dancing around each other like we've been doing lately. If we don't find some sort of way to deal with what happened, then it's gonna eat at both of us, and I've lost enough people in my life. No way I'm letting this rip us apart, not if I can help it."

Come hell or high water, no matter what he had to do, he was never letting either of them walk out of his life again. 

"You ain't gonna lose me, Bri. Not now, not ever," Dom assured him, but when he lifted his shoulders in a small shrug, he just looked...tired. "But I don't know what you want me to say here. Mia's my sister."

"This was her idea," Brian reminded him. 

"Meaning what?"

They could do this dance all night and still not get anywhere. And Brian had never been fond of idling in place. So, giving Dom plenty of time to stop him, he closed the distance between them, and laid his lips against Dom's. 

The kiss was light, gentle, and lasted only a few heartbeats. But when Brian pulled back just far enough to see Dom's face, he didn't even try to fight the sense of peace settling over him. This was right. This was _so_ fucking right.

"You and Mia," he said, throat clogging. " _Both_ of you."

"Both of us," Dom repeated, like he wasn't sure he was hearing correctly. He was so still that he may as well have been a statue.

"We don't have to choose, alright, neither of us. We can have this." Brian grabbed Dom's unresisting hand in his, laced their fingers together. "We can have each other _and_ our family, okay?"

When Dom lifted his lashes, Brian's heart lurched at the wary, hopeful look in those big brown eyes. "I don't want to fuck this up, Bri."

"You won't," he replied, and brushed another kiss to Dom's lips. "I promise. If I thought, even for a second, this was gonna fuck us up, I wouldn't be here."

Dom cupped the back of Brian's neck, and Brian could feel the fine tremors coming from his fingers. They'd faced down drug lords and gangsters and professional killers and certain death more times than Brian could count, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd ever felt so exposed and raw. Couldn't remember the last time he'd ever seen Dom look so vulnerable. 

"Tell me again."

Brian immediately answered. "No one is going to make us choose. So if you want this – me –" 

Dom tightened his hold. "Don't _ever_ think I don't want you," he growled, but under it, Brian could hear the plea and the soul-deep need that matched his own. "I've been wanting this so long..."

"So take it. I'm right here, and the only thing I want right now is to show you how much I've missed you, how much I _want_ this," Brian reassured them both, and leaned in again, slanted his mouth over Dom's. 

The kick raced all along his spine, a charge he'd never been able to replicate in all the years since that first time they'd gotten together. Dom made a hungry, pained sound and their lips slid together, slick and desperate. Brian clawed at Dom's shoulders and Dom clutched at him like he was drowning and Brian was his only lifeline. The heat between them burned bright and all-encompassing, a living thing that roared into life, had them trading kiss after biting kiss, devouring each other from the inside out.

They clumsily shuffled towards the nearest bed and Dom fell back on the narrow mattress, dragging Brian down on top of him. Greedy hands raced over bared skin, under clothing, and each touch sent tiny shocks along Brian's nerves. Dom's lips moved to Brian's throat, started nipping and laving the marks, each one a declaration, a possessive. _Mine._ Brian raked the blunt edge of his nails along Dom's sides, leaving his own mark. Two could _definitely_ play at that particular game, and as much as he was Dom and Mia's, they were both equally _his_.

"Bri..." Dom sighed, and shifted until they were on their sides and Brian reacted on instinct, closed the small distance between them with a soft, slow kiss that had them both groaning low in their throats.

"This bed's really not big enough for what I wanna do to you."

Dom huffed out a laugh. "You wanna change rooms?"

"Fuck no." Brian grinned. He wanted to trace the laugh lines around Dom's mouth with his tongue, wanted to get them both naked and see if Dom still tasted like he remembered. No fucking way he was leaving until he'd gotten his fill. 

Dom smirked and lowered his hands to cup Brian's ass. "That's what I thought."

"Unless you wanted to move..."

"I ain't going nowhere," Dom promised, and Brian felt the truth in it down to his toes.

Home wasn't a place, it never had been. Brian had been happy in Mexico, happy in Brazil, happy in Goa, happy in Spain – he loved L.A., but he didn't need to live there, not in the same way that Dom and Mia did. Brian's roots weren't tied to a city or a house or a car. He didn't carry trinkets or crosses or have a physical talisman he wore as a shield. Home was Jack laughing during his bath, home was the way Mia's hair smelled like roses when they were lying together in bed, home was the way Dom's voice rolled, deep and rough, through his entire being. 

Brian shifted, tilted his head to graze his lips across Dom's jaw, then his mouth again. Felt the steady beat of Dom's heart against his own chest, felt the power and safety in the strong arms wrapped low around his hips, pinning him exactly where he wanted to be. And, for the first time in as long as he could remember, he appreciated the stillness of the air around him, the stillness in his chest that meant he was finally ready to stop running.

"Is this...?" He paused with his hands on the hem of Dom's tank top. Waited to get that final approval before moving forward, taking that last, irrevocable step. "Hey, Dom. Are we good?"

Dom pulled Brian closer, placed a chaste kiss to his lips, and smiled, wide and beautiful and as full of warmth as the summer sun. It felt like a beginning, like a promise. Like his future had finally arrived. "Yeah, Brian, we're good."

***

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot even express how grateful I am to Melle for her encouragement and all of her notes on the initial draft. She helped make the fic about a hundred times better with her insight.
> 
> And a special thanks to my GSaP beta extraordinaire, G. This isn't even her fandom and she didn't even blink when I asked her to look it over. All remaining mistakes are purely on me.


End file.
